Picture this: You step into an elevator. It's you and one other person, riding up 20 floors. You actually speak to one another--this is a networking moment!
Picture this: You're squished into an airplane seat. It's you and the person to your right for the next fifty minutes (the guy on your left is reading a trashy novel). You exchange pleasantries--another networking moment!
Whether you have thirty seconds or fifty minutes to expand your network, the conversation usually starts with some explanation of what you do for a living. This is where the "elevator speech" comes in.
An elevator speech is a very brief explanation of what you're selling. It's an ad! Like any good ad, your elevator speech should be interesting, attractive, and concise.
Interesting
Some people think that an elevator speech has to be "catchy" to be interesting. On the other hand, catchy statements may sound unprofessional. For example, compare these two ads by saying them out-loud:
"We teach persistence, integrity and guts® so you get outstanding sales performance."
"We provide consulting and training for sales performance."
Both sound good? Neither? Depends on the audience, or the phase of the moon? One of the tough things about elevator speeches is that "catchy" versus "unprofessional" is in the ear of the hearer...and the speaker!
The elevator speech that sings today may sound really lame tomorrow. You may also find that the ad that works well at the Chamber Mixer falls flat at the meeting for Women in Consulting.
What's the answer? Create a handful of different ads in both catchy and professional styles. That way, you can choose the ad and style according to the audience and your mood.
Attractive to Prospects
Good ads attract attention from certain people within the audience, not an entire audience. For example, car ads are designed to attract the attention of people thinking about buying a new car. They're not designed to prompt the whole audience to want a new car. The latter is just not as effective as the former.
Same goes for your ad. Don't try to create an ad that moves every single person you meet. Don't judge your ad on that basis, either. Given good luck and good networking event choices, your ad will attract the right prospects.
In addition, remember that networking is often indirect. You may want to include information for the people who can refer you to prospects. If this is true for you, your elevator speech might include mention of:
- Your market. "I work with senior managers."
- Specific services. "We provide individual coaching and group training."
- Products. "My book will be out in June."
Benefits and Bragging
Some things seem like they'd be good to include in an elevator speech, but aren't. For example:
- "I've sold 15,000 copies, to-date."
- "I closed my last account without even meeting the prospect face-to-face."
Statements like that can be perceived as empty bragging. In addition, such statements can be interpreted in negative ways: Only 15,000 copies? Don't care enough to meet in person?
Also, watch out for statements that make listeners think, "so what?" or "I should hope so!" For example:
- "We've been in business for twenty years."
- "We provide excellent customer service."
Concise - adj. meaning "Expressing Much in a Few Words"
People who speak concisely are more impressive than those who ramble on. They sound like they know what they're doing.
Self-employed people often have trouble being concise because we tend to have a portfolio of things we do to make money. If you do a bunch of different things, choose your favorite and focus on that in your ad.
For example: You do sales training, technical writing, and you knit custom hats? Choose one to include in your ad. (When you get to know people better, let them know about your other talents for hire.)
Or, look for what ties things together. For example:
You teach conflict resolution, and interviewing skills? These are both communication skills.
You're a book designer and editor, and you're an author of book on book design? You're a book design expert.
The biggest killer of concise is saying what is not, and "maybe" is pretty bad, too. For example:
No: "I used to mainly do book design, but these days I'm focusing on writing a book about design. Hopefully, it will be out in June. I'm doing some speaking, too."
Yes: "I'm an expert and speaker on book design, writing a book that will be published in June."
No: "After 15 years, my company is changing the type of services we offer; from customer service consulting, to knowledge management consulting."
Yes: "My company provides knowledge management consulting."
No: "I've got 20 years experience in high tech and was recently laid off. I'm here because I'm thinking about doing consulting and I'm hoping to get some advice."
Yes: "I'm here to get some input on how my high tech experience might translate to consulting. If you can help, please come see me at the break."
So What Does Work?
Remember that your ad is an introduction: Don't expect it to close new business on its own!
Listen to public radio (NPR) or TV (PBS). The ads from sponsors include great models for your ad/elevator speech.
Listen to other people's elevator speech/ad: What impression do they make?
Draft a variety of ads. Write them down and analyze them, or have someone else listen and do the same.
Create 30-second demos (instead of an elevator speech) to use in situations where people give their ad one-by-one; e.g., give a tip.
If you're looking for help with something, say so and state a call to action.
Finally, here's some advice you'll hardly ever see in e-sales-tips:
Once you've got good ads, don't practice them too much. Too much practice makes them sound bad, albeit mostly to yourself. |